Ramsey man sentenced for scrap metal theft in Andover

A Ramsey man was sentenced Nov. 19 in Anoka County District Court after pleading guilty to a felony charge for breaking into an abandoned Andover building to steal scrap metal.

David Robert Tomlinson, 54, was sentenced to 60 days in jail, but given credit for 33 days already served, on the third-degree burglary conviction.

A 15-month prison sentence was stayed, but he was placed on five years of probation and fined $185.

The court case of alleged accomplice Tony Lee Bates, 28, of East Bethel has yet to be concluded. He posted $10,000 bail the same day Tomlinson was sentenced. His next court appearance on a felony third-degree burglary charge is Jan. 15, 2014.

According to the criminal complaint, an Anoka County Sheriff’s Office deputy on patrol spotted a car parked in front of an abandoned building at 15825 7th Ave. NW around 1:25 p.m. Sept. 20.

When the deputy turned around and drove back to the property to see what was going on, the vehicle was gone. He checked the building and found the door had been recently forced open and there was a pile of scrap metal outside the door.

Authorities first located Bates inside the vehicle now parked a short distance away.

Tomlinson was soon found and both men were arrested and allegedly admitted in separate post-Miranda statements that they had entered the building with the intent to steal scrap metal.